Fife music teacher jailed for grooming boys for sex

A MUSIC teacher who preyed on young boys was told today he would serve a minimum of five years in jail.

Andrew Kingsley, 23, from Dunfermline, also faces a lifelong restriction order after admitting a "predatory campaign" of sexual abuse against children as young as 12 between 2007 and 2009.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Kingsley was jailed for at least five years after pleading guilty last year to 31 charges, including using internet chatrooms to groom under-age boys for sex.

Judge Lord Pentland said the worst aspect of Kingsley's "sustained criminality" was the "devious manipulation and relentless pursuit" of his victims for his own gratification.

Lord Pentland told Kingsley the lifelong restriction order meant he would be subject to risk assessment and close supervision for the rest of his life.

He said: "The intensity of your offending, its duration and the level of planning and calculation involved all support this view.

"In my opinion, if you are at liberty there is a likelihood that you will seriously endanger the wellbeing of members of the public at large."

Sixteen boys were targeted by Kingsley, who he begged for sex over the internet.

He committed a serious sexual offence with a 15-year-old boy and engaged in sex acts with two others.

He arranged meetings with some of the other victims, who he sent sexually explicit messages to online or by mobile phone, but they failed to show up.

Kingsley's conviction follows one of the largest investigations into internet offences ever undertaken by Fife Constabulary.

The force's Operation Solus involved a dedicated team which uncovered more than 3,400 chat logs from Kingsley's computers, many of a very sexually explicit nature.

A number of photographs and pornographic videos were seized along with his mobile phone which revealed text messages containing sexual chat.

Many of the incidents took place across Fife, but Kingsley also travelled to Glasgow, Ayrshire and London to carry out his abuse.

Lord Pentland told the court that Kingsley took advantage of his position of trust and groomed his victims over the internet in order to develop abusive relationships.

He said: "In some cases, the internet contact progressed to the stage of you meeting the victims in person and then physically abusing them.

"In relation to some of your victims, you clearly occupied a position of trust and authority, either as a teacher or in some other influential role.

"Many of your victims looked up to you and admired you, but you took advantage of their emotional and sexual immaturity for your own selfish purposes."

His defence counsel said there was little doubt that Kingsley had a "substantial talent as far as teaching was concerned".

The court was told that Kingsley was highly thought of by staff and pupils, which made his situation "more of a tragedy".

It also heard that Kingsley came from a secure and safe background with a "supportive family who still support him".

Lord Pentland told Kingsley that a number of the teenage boys on whom he preyed had suffered serious psychological trauma.

He said: "What must be stressed is that your victims were indeed children and incapable of consenting to sexual activities. You well understood this, but you pressed your attentions on them regardless of their vulnerabilities."

Kingsley's sentence was backdated to October 8 2010, when he appeared in court and admitted the 31 offences.

Fife Constabulary welcomed the sentence, saying it brought their "groundbreaking investigation" to an end.

Detective Superintendent Garry McEwan said: "We followed hundreds of leads within Scotland, England, Europe and as far afield as the USA.

"What we found, through the use of various forensic and covert techniques, was a catalogue of abuse over a period of five years.

"Andrew Kingsley used his musical teaching and online social networking sites to meet young boys, before pursuing them relentlessly, all with a view to fulfilling his sexual desire."

He added: "I cannot overstate the devastating impact his actions have had on his victims and their families and I would personally like to take this opportunity to recognise their courage and bravery throughout the inquiry and thank them for their contribution to today's outcome.

"Andrew Oliver Kingsley appeared to many as someone you could trust - a talented musician, a well-respected member of the musical community and a school teacher. None of these titles sit comfortably with that of a predatory sex offender.

"That is, however, the stark and uncomfortable truth."